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60 Arrested in Texas Online Child Sex Crime Sting

Multiple law enforcement agencies came together for a three-month investigation called Operation Broken Heart, which resulted in 60 arrests and 152 charges across eight southeast Texas counties for numerous Internet crimes against children.

“This is a bittersweet moment we have every year,” said Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo at a press conference held at the Children’s Assessment Center (CAC) following the arrests Tuesday.

“It’s bittersweet because we have to have investigators investigating crimes most people would deem unthinkable. Operation Broken Heart brings relief to children in our communities who are being victimized.”

Operation Broken Heart is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a 90-day collaboration of 65 different law enforcement agencies that target online predators who produce, distribute, and/or possess child pornography, and solicit or commit child sexual abuse. The Houston Metro ICAC Task Force led this sweep.